Asylum

Snow Plow Fail -- 4-Ton Truck Crashes Through Parking Lot Roof

Simon Crisp — 2011-01-19T13:00:00+00:00

Footage caught in Calhoun, Ga., shows a snow plow hard at work on the top deck of this two-story parking lot when calamity strikes.

The roof gives way and the truck, loaded with two tons of grit plummets through the floor with its rear-end landing on the causeway underneath.

Luckily the whole thing was caught on camera, and even more luckily no one was hurt. Keep reading for the full video.

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Texting Woman Falls Into Fountain at Shopping Mall

Simon Crisp — 2011-01-18T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Humor, Video, Vid of the Moment

Some people are great multitaskers, capable of doing several things at the same time and doing them well. Just not this woman, unless she was trying to make a fool of herself AND achieve YouTube infamy.

The unfortunate woman ended up soaking wet and climbing out of a fountain after absent-mindedly walking around a shopping mall while typing out a message on her mobile phone.

Given the way she looks around to see if anyone noticed the blunder, we almost feel bad telling you that you can keep reading to see it for yourself.

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How Not to Clear Snow From a Roof

Simon Crisp — 2011-01-13T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Humor, Video, Vid of the Moment

Maybe this Estonian man just wanted to clear the snow from his roof, maybe he wanted to go one better than a certain DIY avalanche in the fail stakes. If it was the latter, then mission accomplished.

You see, rather than letting the snow build up on his roof and risk a smaller version of this urban avalanche, he decided to take matters into his own hands and systematically remove it.

But it wasn't going to be that easy, because with the possible exception of wind, snow has an uncanny habit of making us look like fools, whether driving to work or presenting a news report.

And the snow didn't disappoint. One minute the man was diligently removing the snow, the next he was lying on the floor having been on the wrong end of a roof avalanche.

Well, at least his roof didn't collapse. And judging by his laughter (we don't have clue what he said), the chap seems able to see the funny side, likely because his 10-foot fall was injury-free. Check below for the video.

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Streaker Fail! Energetic Nudist Bounces Off Tennis Court Door

Simon Crisp — 2011-01-13T10:30:00+00:00

It wasn't exactly a high-profile sporting event, but that wasn't going to stop this streaker from doing his thing. The transparent door to the tennis court, however, that's a different matter. It's a streaker fail.

We all know the key to being a successful streaker is getting attention while disrupting the event of your choice and wearing nothing but a cheeky smile.

But it doesn't always go according to plan. While there isn't too much information to go on, this 30-second video of Internet gold shows our nude hero running toward what looks like a flood-lit amateur tennis practice (albeit on a tiny court) while shouting to his buddy with the camera.

As he tries to run onto the court and disrupt the action, he comes to an embarrassing standstill -- because he failed to notice a see-through door to the court and ran (let's say head-first) into it. Keep reading for the video.

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TV Camera is Hijacked by a Bear

Simon Crisp — 2011-01-04T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Entertainment, Video, Animals

Last week we discovered a curious polar bear will quickly destroy the prying eye of an unwanted TV documentary camera.

Now it turns out that black bears will first try releasing their inner Ken Burns and using it ... before biting and knocking it to the floor.

At least that's what we're taking from this BBC documentary footage shot for the show "The Bear Family And Me" with nature expert Gordon Buchanan.

In the clip, a bear can be seen wandering over to an expensive tripod-mounted camera, which Buchanan had left running, and climbing behind it before peering through the lens as though filming footage.

But the cameraman's career is short-lived. It soon starts chewing on the microphone and knocks it to the floor ... just after BBC man says: "Don't do that, no no no, it's not mine, it's hired." Luckily the only damage done to the felled camera was a nibble taken out of the microphone and he was able to keep shooting.

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Driver Crashes Into House While Pushing BMW

Simon Crisp — 2010-12-23T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Cars, Video, Weird News

If you've got to go somewhere over this snowy Christmas, make sure you drive carefully. Also, you probably want to make sure you don't do something so stupid you become a YouTube hit.

Step forward the anonymous BMW driver who recently managed to crash her car into a house without even being behind the wheel at the time.

It all started when the blundering woman tried to take her 1 Series BMW out the other day but couldn't get it going because of the ice and snow.

Initially she tried clearing ice from the front wheels (despite it being a rear-wheel drive car) and looked surprised when it didn't work. Then she decided more drastic action was needed.

So she slipped the automatic car into "drive" and tried to push the vehicle free, presumably hoping to jump back in the car once it was moving and drive off.

But (as you may have guessed from the headline) it didn't go to plan, and the car sped away from her and smashed into a nearby house. Oops. Keep reading to see the (slightly NSFW, due to cursing) footage.

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Janitor Dogs Clean Up at Christmas Market

Simon Crisp — 2010-12-22T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Weird News, Animals

A pair of dogs have become an online hit after collecting litter at a Christmas market in France. Did we mention they did it while wearing fluorescent jackets and pushing little cleaning trolleys?

We thought that might get your attention! Boston terriers Neo and Tuxedo recently performed their stunt at a festive market in Montpellier, where they soon became the star attraction.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, the black and white dogs can be seen providing their canine cleaning service by pushing a trolley around and picking up bits of litter in their mouths.

Owners of Neo and Tuxedo say they trained the pair using a "clicker training method," which also helped them learn to skateboard.

Keep reading to see the pair and their clean up operation ... and then ask yourself why the dogs at your local park can't be trained to clean up after themselves too.

Want to see the pair perform other tricks? How about that skateboarding clip we were telling you about.

Or failing that, watch the duo go on a pet shop supermarket sweep.

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BASE Jumper Leaps Off Bridge As Police Try To Arrest Him

Simon Crisp — 2010-12-16T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Mantastic

An apparently intoxicated BASE jumper has been filmed leaping from a bridge in California -- just as a police officer tried to stop him.

In a video posted to YouTube, Steve Jester -- who's well regarded in the California BASE jumping community -- is seen slurring his words as he describes what he's about to do.

The 46-year-old then made his way onto the 278-foot Bixby Bridge and prepared to jump. But as he lowered his chute, a police car pulled up with lights flashing.

An officer then told him, "Don't even think about it! Pull your pack back up right now." But despite saying to his cameraman, "We're so busted!" Steve had no intention of not jumping.

As the officer approached, the daredevil stumbled his way onto the side of the bridge and, after telling the cop, "I'm under arrest anyways ... I'm sorry, I've got to do it," he made the dangerous jump and floated down to a beach below with his rainbow-colored chute.

Jester was later charged with resisting arrest, DUI, trespassing and possession of marijuana. Keep reading to see the video and, remember, don't try this at home. Really, we mean it.

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Clerk Fends Off Machete-Wielding Robber -- With Feather Duster

Simon Crisp — 2010-12-13T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News

Some shopkeepers keep a weapon under the till in case their store is raided by an armed robber. But one Massachusetts clerk didn't need one -- he fended off a machete-wielding robber using a feather duster.

Yes, that's right, in an unlikely battle between a 15-inch machete and a pink feather duster, the cleaning apparatus somehow came out on top.

Caught on security footage, a pair of would-be robbers had walked into Jakeey Patel's store and, as one stood by the door, the other approached the counter and produced a 15-inch machete.

He then demanded the cashier give him money from the till, but our new favorite clerk would have none of it.

Despite having the blade threateningly waved in front of him, Patel calmly stirred his cup of coffee for several seconds ... before turning around and grabbing his trusty pink feather duster. When he then lifted the duster up as if to strike the robber with it, the nervous crook (who obviously suffers some sort of bizarre feather-duster phobia) backed away, and Patel called 911.

On his way out, the robber took a chunk out of the counter with the machete and smashed the glass on an ice-cream freezer, but luckily no one was hurt. Keep reading to see the video.

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Four-Story Urban Avalanche Almost Hits Scottish Pedestrians

Simon Crisp — 2010-12-07T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News

Avalanches may be something to worry about if you're in the Alps, but you don't exactly need to be mindful of them when walking around the streets of Edinburgh, right?

Wrong! Despite being lulled into a false sense of security by the rarity of the urban avalanche, pedestrians had a lucky escape when a mass of snow fell from the roof of a building, narrowly missing them.

The incident, which was handily caught on video (we love it when that happens), is said to have happened in the Scottish city on Friday afternoon after heavy snowfall.

In the 28-second clip, shot from the window of a nearby office building, a bit of snow can be seen starting to fall from the inclined roof of the the Scottish Widows building.

Then, all of a sudden, the entire covering of snow -- which appears to be at least a foot deep -- slides from the roof and comes dramatically crashing down onto the pavement four floors below.

And it's only when the camera pans down to show the plummeting snow that you realize how close it was to a group of four pedestrians who'd been standing on the pavement and almost became real-life snowmen. Keep reading to see the video.

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Naked German in Car Trunk on Google Street View Deleted

Simon Crisp — 2010-11-23T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Weird Stuff

Everybody knows there's some weird sights to behold on Google Street View. In fact, between angry scuba divers and inebriated Aussies, it's pretty hard to impress us anymore.

Luckily for us, Google recently took its camera-wielding cars on a tour of the land of sausages and Hasselhoff. And if this is anything to go by, Germany doesn't disappoint.

A bizarre photograph of a naked man climbing from the trunk of a car in Mannheim was spotted on, and then promptly deleted from, Google Street View Germany, which only went live at the beginning of the month.

The image appears to show the nude man moving around in the trunk of a convertible Mercedes, which is parked on the driveway outside a respectable-looking house. Not that it helps explain what is going on, but a dog can be seen lying on the floor nearby.

Since the image was highlighted on a number of websites that speculated what the man could be up to, Google has removed it from Street View. Some claim he could be a kidnap victim or a cheating lover trying to hide; others boringly (but probably correctly) say he's actually just fixing his rear lights and wearing a pair of tight, skin-colored shorts.

What do you think?

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Guinness World Records Day Sees Thousands of Records Smashed

Simon Crisp — 2010-11-19T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News

Speedy fire-eating, a 90-year-old wing-walker and 400 dogs dressed in crazy costumes -- just another day for world record adjudicators, right?

Well, yesterday was probably a bit busier than usual, because it was Guinness World Records Day 2010 -- during which an estimated 200,000 people around the world tried to break mostly crazy records.

The highlight has to be 90-year-old Tom Lackey, who broke his own record for being the world's oldest wing-walker. He was strapped to the 32-foot wing of a plane and flown up 500 feet.

Meanwhile in London, Preacher Muad-dib took the records for "most consecutive flames blown by mouth with one mouthful of fuel" and "the most flames extinguished by mouth in one minute." But even his efforts looked relatively normal in comparison to those in Florida, where 400 pet owners scooped up the record for "most dogs in costumed dress" ... much to the apparent embarrassment of the over-dressed pooches.

Other notable records included can-can girls at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, kicking their way to the "most high kicks in a single chorus line (in 30 seconds)," and Wayne and Laurie Hallquist from California becoming the world's tallest married couple. He's 6-foot, 10.4-inches, and she's 6-foot, 5.95-inches.

Keep reading to see some of the record breakers in action.

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Elementary School Class Sends Potato Dressed as Santa to Space

Simon Crisp — 2010-11-19T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Vid of the Moment

When you were a kid, what was the coolest thing you did at school? Creating that volcano for the science fair? Driving one of your teachers to an epic meltdown? Sending a potato dressed as Santa into space?

Wait, what?

A "spacechip" (their pun, not ours), made from a 2-liter plastic bottle with propulsion provided by a helium weather balloon, had a camera attached, of course. The potato was a regular old potato, apart from its tiny Santa beard and hat. Children from the Landscove Primary School in the U.K. picked it out, for what has to be the awesomest science project in the world, ever.

"Spudnik" reached the giddy heights of 17 miles above the surface of the earth, before floating down 140 miles away near Basingstoke to end its two-and-a-half-hour trip. Check out this video clip below for more details on the amazing potato's journey.

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Chilean Miner May Have a Future As an Elvis Impersonator

Simon Crisp — 2010-11-05T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Entertainment, Video, Vid of the Moment

Edison Pena is one of the Chilean miners who survived 69 days underground.

Now declared fit and healthy, Edison is capitalizing on his newfound fame by, among other things, appearing on "The Late Show With David Letterman" yesterday.

The interview (conducted through a translator) was going pretty well -- Pena got a few laughs and told America that he was never able to relax enough to use the bathroom while trapped in the mine. When Letterman asked about the miners' musical tastes, however, he really broke out of his shell.

Next, Pena is going to run in the New York marathon, barely a month after he was rescued from the collapsed mine.

Keep reading to see his memorable "Late Show" appearance.

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Boy Gets Detention for Farting ... and It Makes the News

Simon Crisp — 2010-11-02T11:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Humor, Video, Weird News

We've all been scolded for letting one rip at an inopportune moment by those who obviously don't appreciate the refined subtleties of flatulence humor.

But has one of your farts ever been so forceful that you received a formal reprimand for it? Even better, has one ever made the news? No? Then you've just been outdone by an 11-year-old boy.

Christian Summers was traveling back to his Cleveland home on the school bus recently, when he let one slip, which, understandably, made him laugh.

However, the bus driver didn't find his antics amusing and gave him a discipline warning and an hour of detention.

Christian's parents said they thought the punishment stunk (sorry) so bad that they went to the local TV news station ... which, in turn, ran a two-minute report on the fart and its fallout (not like that).

Keep reading to watch the amazing report, during which it's revealed that Christian now "fears his flatulence."

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Stuff Only Men Would Do -- Drop a Giant Pumpkin on a Car

Simon Crisp — 2010-10-27T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Food, Cars, Video, Weird News, Vid of the Moment

With Halloween approaching, it's easy to think the only thing to do with a pumpkin is carve a face into it and put a candle inside.

But as farmers will tell you, the humble pumpkin is far more versatile than we give it credit for. It has tons of other uses, like making soup ... and crushing old cars.

Admittedly, for the latter, you need a larger-than-average pumpkin -- something around 1,150 pounds should do nicely -- along with a 175-foot-tall crane and a car you don't mind wrecking.

Fortunately for YouTube, they had all three at a recent event in Utah, where they decided to celebrate Matt McConkie's state-record 1,169-pound pumpkin the only way they know how: by dropping it onto an old car.

Keep reading to see the video.

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Canadian Football Players Brawl With Fans ... in the Stands

Simon Crisp — 2010-10-21T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sports, Video, Weird News

Most professional athletes have an amazing ability to get "into the zone" by blocking out any boos, jeers or insults shouted at them, focusing on their own performance and maintaining a dignified silence.

But, not all have perfected this skill. Just look at this Canadian football team, which recently decided mid-game to let the opposing team's fans -- who had admittedly being hurling water bottles along with their insults -- have it.

With just 13.7 seconds left on the clock, members of the St. Leonard Cougars decided enough was enough and charged into the stands where they say fans of the Hamilton Hurricanes had been abusing them.

Once there, the 18-to-22-year-old players, from the Ontario Football Conference, started throwing punches, kicks and swinging their helmets at the bemused fans who didn't know what hit them. (For the record, it was, more often than not, the fist of an angry football player.)

Keep reading to see the brawl. Think of it this way ... at least the mascots didn't get involved.

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Russian Policeman Narrowly Escapes From Pack of Wolves

Simon Crisp — 2010-10-15T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Weird But True, Animals, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

A Russian policeman was forced to jump into the back of a car he'd just pulled over for having a faulty headlight when a pack of hungry-looking wolves ran onto the road and toward him.

The bizarre scene, which fortunately for us was captured by a nearby security camera, happened on the M-23 highway between Rostov and Taganrog, late on Sunday night.

Officer Sergei Antonov had been standing at the side of the road when he spotted a car with a faulty headlight and flagged it down as part of a routine vehicle inspection operation. But after asking the driver for his papers and telling him he would be getting a fine, Sergei's evening took an unexpected turn as he heard his colleague shout, "Sergey, wolveskys!" (Perfect Russian.)

After spinning around and seeing more than a dozen hungry-looking wolves heading toward him, he asked the driver to "Opensky the back doorsky" and quickly leapt inside.

The pack of wolves then ran past the vehicle like they were just on their way to the next service station. When the officer finally felt brave enough to get back out of the car, he let the driver off without the previously discussed fine.

We guess even in Russia it would have been a bit harsh to ticket the man who'd just saved you from being mauled by a pack of wolves. Keep reading to see the footage.

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400 Mattresses Topple in Domino Record

Simon Crisp — 2010-10-04T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News

A group in the U.K. has broken the world record for the largest human-mattress domino fall.

After four months of planning, 400 mattresses were lined up and toppled this weekend, each held by someone who fell to the floor with their respective bedding.

Organizers Palatine Beds, owned by the Newcastle City Council, had expected to break the current record (which stood at 256) easily by toppling 301 mattresses -- but just two weeks ago, a team in New York knocked over 380.

As a result they were forced to increase the mattress count. But, because not enough participants had come forward, they also had to improvise by getting the first two rows of people to pick their mattresses up and quickly run around to rejoin the end of the line.

In total it took just three minutes and 41 seconds for all 400 mattresses to fall. Check below to see the stunt in action.

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Man Stung by Over 1,200 Bees and Survives

Simon Crisp — 2010-09-17T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Weird News, Animals

What's worse than being stung by a bee? How about being attacked and stung by more than 1,200 of the pointy-tailed critters. Yeah, that'll do it.

A Texas man is recovering in the hospital after being attacked by a swarm of bees that turned on him as he mowed a field. Sixty-five-year-old Lamar LaCaze was driving his tractor when he disturbed some bees living in an old water heater.

Angry at bee-ing (sorry) disturbed, the insects swarmed the tractor as Lamar ran away and called to his son for help.

But the thousands of bees soon caught up with him and started stinging him all over his body. It was only when firefighters arrived and used foam on the swarm, thwarting its assault.

Lamar was rushed to the local hospital where medics removed more than 1,200 stingers.

Despite having suffered countless stings in his ears, nose and mouth, doctors say Lamar is due to make a full recovery -- though he could be off the taste of honey for some time. Keep reading for a video.

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